<*tmk> okah, as a start why dont u tell abit about urself. who u are, age,
      and whatever crap that might come to ur mind in this serious hour.

<*java> ok, whatever you prefer, sire. my real name is magnus hollmo and
       i am 20 years of age. for those who knows me i am better known as
       java. i live in the middle of sweden and i am totally
       uninteresting.

<*java> So, tell us ignorant people about the being behind that
       handle, TMK.

<*tmk> well, if anyone at all has noticed there is such a thing as a tmk
      there isnt much to tell about that thing. i tend to be 20 years as
      well right now being an 1977 edition and all. realname was tom
      motoyoshi kalland last time i had a glimse of reallife. stuck in
      (well, just outside really) oslo, norway. should also be pointed out
      that im also totally uninteresting.

<*tmk> since this is an interview on a graphican related site i guess i should
      ask u sensible questions like how u draw, etc. but i wont.. well, not
      yet. can u tell us more about the civil java, or magnus. what u do and
      stuff like that.

<*java> i agree with that, i wont ask too much about it either.
       the civilian java, well. i am currently unemployed, live with
       my parent and my kidbrother and sleeps all day. sometimes i get
       up and chats via the almighty IRC, spends a lot of money that
       i dont have. i dont have any income at all. ive tried to
       get into the game business but without any luck. 
       guess no one wants me.

<*tmk> sounds very normal. i take it that u have one parent of each kind as
      well then? and otherwise u waste ur young years at the scene..
      perhaps u could deliberate more on that. which groups, what u do
      (for those who has entered this site by mistake) etc. even if we know,
      it might be interesting to hear u write it somehow. :P

<*java> yes, i have two parents, my mistake :), one very normal dad and
       a nagging mother, like most of us i guess. about the scene life ..
       well, i started in the demoscene back in 1994 (am i a newbie? i
       guess so) and my first group was actually Cryonics. before i found
       the demoscene i was into ansi/ascii , started with that in 1992. i
       was more or less forced into doing graphics, my "occupation" in
       crs was really as an ansi artist but later the vga artist left.
       my first gfx was for a game called "Crytris". Well, the rest is
       history, ive been in groups such as: Sunshine Productions, Obscene,
       Cascada, Tpolm, and a lot of others that i dont remember :)
       Currently i am only in Cryonics and Tpolm and i am quite satisfied
       with that, oh, and i mainly do 2d gfx and the 3d for cryonics.

<*java> A lot of people out there isnt aware
       of your asian origin, please enlighten them Motoyoshi.

<*tmk> oh. yeah, some ppl have wondered why i seem to be totally asian
      fanatics in my graphics lately. well, one of my parent
      (i also got two, one of each), my mother, happens to be japanese
      so therefore im a hybrid, half norwegian and half japanese. or as we
      japs say "hanbun" or "haafu" (trying to sound english). so
      basically im a culture schizofrenic that at the moment only draw
      asian gals. later i might turns worse and draw only vikings. who knows.

<*java> so, do you wear kimonos and such or are you a plain norwegian?

<*tmk> i tend to dress rather western i guess. jeans and all that crap.
      sometimes it do happen i wear some weird jp shirts like u see kung fu
      heros wears on movies, but never kimonos and things like that. thats a
      hassle, and i generally steer clear of everthing that can be said to
      be a hassle.

<*java> so, are you into martial arts too? 

<*tmk> no, im not into martial arts. did judo as a kid, but then i realized
      that it was truly a hassle. ive understod ure quite into martial arts?
      any other hobbies?

<*java> well, ive been training shotokan karate for 2 years now, i dont
       know if i am "quite into" martial arts, but i do practice it.
       other hobbies, well, ive always loved to paint and draw so
       i guess thats what i do when i am not sitting infront of that
       stupid machine. (i must be a real graphics addict i guess).
       i live a very boring and regular life.

<*tmk> i guess most of the ppl out there are curious about ur nick java.
      i bet its not cos of uncontroled coffee addiction nor being a total java
      coding freak. so why java? and while we're at drinking, do u have any
      special eating/drinking habits u think that might help u boost
      ur artistical skills?

<*java> no, i dont take drugs like other strange tpolm dudes do :).
       well, the handle java was actually a misunderstanding. i was
       chatting with a friend of mine at a bbs back in 92 and he asked
       me why i didnt have a handle. well, we talked about it and i was
       just saying "ja vadå?" (english: yes, what?) but it turned out as
       "java". since then ive been using java as a handle. ive thought
       of changing it a lot of times because of the java language that
       popped up a few years later but i like my handle too much. :)
       i dont have any special eating/drinking habits while creating
       my graphics, most of the time i drink plain water or milk.

<*java> So how come you ended up as an graphic artist for the ungrateful 
       demoscene?

<*tmk> well, actually it was all an "accident". i was a coder (well, i still am)
      and when we were working on our first "demo" at tg94 we suddenly figured
      'shit, we need a logo'. it didnt accure to us that we could use simple
      plain text as ppl do these days and since there wasnt anyone else to do
      it i fired up a scarylooking proggy called deluxe paint. this might 
      sound funny cos i cant do logos for shit, but anyways, that was the 
      way it started. it took a whole year tho before i actually did draw 
      again attending a compo for the first time at gathering'95.


<*java> So are you still coding demos/intros or have you left that behind
       you and only does the gfx?

<*tmk>   not really, im still not a graphician only. lately ive not done that
        much scene coding tho as im fed up of coding when i get home from work.
        but i still like to think im abit codish. it depends. coding and gfx
        go up and down. sometimes im occupied with gfx, othertimes i prefere
        coding.

<*tmk> so what made u start as a graphician on the scene? 

<*java> Well, I started out as an ansi artist in 1992 because I couldnt 
       afford to pump several gigs into the warez boards. Doing ansi was 
       the only way I could get access to the boards, later on I got more 
       and more into doing vga but it wasnt until I joined Cryonics (1994) 
       that I gave up ansi and devoted myself entirelly to vga. I guess doing 
       computer graphics is a natural step since Ive always been drawing 
       and painting in real life.

<*java> What are you doing when you are not on IRC ?

<*tmk> when im not on irc im either at the university pretending to study or 
      at work trying to convince the boss that im actually doing something 
      while im not. at the moment im taking computer science, math (hate hate,
      but needed for the puter science), and japanese. abit weird combination,
      and i seem to be the first stupid enuf to try that. its ok tho, cos
      when i fall behind i have an excellent excuse for doing so. :) 
      studying is sickening boring so i skip mostly. when i feel extremely 
      clever and are skipping classes anyway i attend my job where i work as
      a programmer making boring things. life is basically a very boring 
      thing, and since im not very successfull doing things rite im still 
      alive and around being bored.

<*tmk> any specific goals on the scene, or something u dream of achiving
      before u quit? 

<*java> Not really, though it would be nice to win at a big party with a 
       picture that doesnt show a naked girl. The only thing I really 
       would like is that all the graphicians would be friends and 
       respecting eachother, instead of urguing and beeing plain silly.

<*java> When you want to chill, what do you do ?

<*tmk>  sparetime is mostly wasted on movies. im a big movie addict and i 
       believe that ppl should at least see a movie each day. the more the
       merrier of course. except from that i sometimes draw (on paper that 
       is), irc too much, trying to keep up with all the letters i should
       return, go out with friends, etc. hm.. starting to sound like a hassle
       things i do. guess its not to chill what i just replied. :P

<*tmk> if u could be anyone in the world who would u be and why?

<*java> Thats a tricky question, but I'd like to be the invisible man from
       time to time, that would be neat. I wont say why though ;)

<*java> Why do you think you have been so succesful in the gfx compos ?

<*tmk> erh.. well, ive only had some luck lately. in the beginning it wasnt 
      that fun. for instans at the first party i competed at (gathering'95)
      i was told to naff off cos "it's not a winner pic anyway" when i 
      asked them to show my pic in the right resolution in the 2nd run 
      (they showed a hires in 320x200.. not resized, so u only saw 20% of 
      it). :P i guess u refere to 2nd at tg97 and 3rd at tp97. how the hell
      i got those results is as mystery to me as everyone else. its not like
      i have deserved it or anything, i guess that voters are just mentally
      disturbed sometimes. the funny thing is that while ive done better at
      big parties lately i do worse at small norwegian parties. in 95 and 96 
      i won alot of them, but last time i attended a small party i think i 
      ended up at last place. :> however i dont expect my luck will continue
      in 98 and for tg98 my only goal is to make it to the final (if i attend
      the compo at all that is).

<*tmk> anything spectacular and totally breathtaking u want to do that we 
      should know of? 

<*java> I am still a virgin? Well, no. I dont know. I know a way of making 
       this world better, send all our garbage to the moon, then it will 
       both look like a swiss cheese and smell like one. Oh, yes, Ive 
       been in the Guiness Book Of Records, kinda anyway.

<*java> A typical boring interview question, who is your favourite scene
       artist?

<*tmk> i got an even more boring answer.. i dont know. i cant say i got any 
      particulary favourites. alot of good ones making good pics, and some of 
      their pics i like, some i dont. and as there are so many different styles
      i think its impossible to compare and say that i prefere this rather than
      that. hahha.. now i didnt offend anyone.

<*tmk> anything u feel like becomming or do when u grow up? becoming 
      president or handling toxicwaste at a chemical factory?

<*java> I would like to be a porn actor, earn big dough and be with girls
       all day long. No, guess I want a good job and a nice family, geeh,
       that sounds boring.

<*java> It is quite obvious that you fancy asian girls, why are they better
       than the western ones?

<*tmk> :P this had to come up sooner or later hu? :) im not sure i really 
      fancy them more than western ones. i know that all the pics ive done 
      lately are of asian gals, but then again ive done alot of pics with
      western girls before. but asian girls tend to be cute, dont they? :P 
      but really, i dont have anything against western girls and i dont think
      that i fancy oriental ones more than western ones. but as most other 
      ppl do draw blonde western chicks, there is no way i can get noticed 
      doing that. :) ppl havent really complained about this, what they 
      do complain about is that i always dress them up rather than drawing 
      nudies. but then again, im a very decent person. :P

<*tmk> tell us about what tools and proggies u use when u feel like creating 
      a graphical masterpiece?

<*java> I dont create any graphical masterpieces but anyway, i use a lot 
       actually, this will be a pretty long list. Photoshop, 3ds4, 
       3ds MAX (hey PL, dont gloat too much!) Deluxe Paint, Gfx2, 
       Fractal Design Painter, Poser, Alchemy, Neopaint (geeeeh), 
       Guile Draw, Cygnus Editor, Corel Draw, and Illustrator. 
       But I mostly use Photoshop and Gfx2. 

<*java> So, what are you going to do when you grow up?

<*tmk> no idea. ive always imagined myself being found dead died by alcho, 
      suicide or overdose at the age of 30-40 or so in a small shitty 
      apartment on the eastside starting to rotten so much that the neighbors
      break in to figure what the smell is. but as its allowed to be naivly
      optimistic about things i hope that when i grow up ill be more 
      sensible and get a interesting job and all the usual crap.

<*tmk> howcome u can cope with not drawing just gals?

<*java> I like girls just like the next one but I think art is more then 
       just girls (especially nude ones). Guess I try to stand out a little
       bit from the rest, I do paint girls sometimes but I try not too. 
       The scene has enough girl painters anyway.

<*java> Do you want to make a coop. picture? If so, with whom ?

<*tmk> coop pics have never really striked me as something that fits me. i 
      always feel like i have to do it all or it wont become the way i want 
      it. but if i were it would to get someone to do background and stuff 
      that should be in place to fill up a pic. drawing the gal in the
      foreground is ok, but doing backgrounds are a real mood killer 
      i think.:P

<*tmk> ure one of the graphician using both photoshop and traditional pixeling
      tools like deluxe paint. anything u want to add to the ongoing 
      discussion about this?

<*java> I prefer doing art in Photoshop, because you can work in layers and 
       its much quicker to build a picture in it. Most of the times I 
       finishes my pictures in Deluxe Paint or Gfx2, mostly to get the 
       details more correct and add stuff that I cant really do in Photoshop. 
       There is a lot of ppl that think Photoshop sucks for creating art, 
       but they are dead wrong. They have perhaps seen some blurry, boring
       and ugly pictures done in Photoshop by people who cant handle the 
       program or dont have any talent. I dont think you can judge a person
       by which program he/she uses to create his/her art.

<*java> What is your opinion about sports ?

<*tmk> sports? u mean that weird stuff they do on tv? nah. im not exactly 
      what u can call a sportfreak. but i dont have a problem with ppl 
      being caught up in sporting as long as they dont turn totally fanatic
      (as most soccer fans seem to do).

<*tmk> just to let us understand the true person behind the nick java, whats ur
      fav movie, music, food and so on ?

<*java> Oh no, I hate such questions, they are sooo boring, like me. But ok.
       My fave move is The Big Blue (Le Grande Bleu(?)), but I mostly like
       Sci-Fi movies. I like a lot of food, but I wouldnt say no to a fillet 
       of beef, baked potatoes, mushroom sauce and a glass of red wine.
       My record collection is very mixed, but let me say this: I have all
       the Beatles records, all the Paul McCartney records and most of the 
       John Lennon records. When I was younger I applied to be in a quizshow 
       on tv on the subject Beatles. I also have classical, rock, pop, euro,
       trance and hardcore records. The only tv program that I watch 
       frequently is the X-files. 

<*java> What will the demoscene look like in 5 years ?

<*tmk> in 5 years? hm. i think it will get worse. more commercialized, 
      more wannabees, and all the other negative aspects that have been 
      more and more annoying lately (i think, im quite newbie so.. :P ). 
      however, i dont intend to hang around that much longer so i dont 
      really care that much (im such a cynical bastard). ;)

<*tmk> do you want to continue with drawings/graphics when u leave the scene,
      perhaps doing it professionaly?

<*java> Yes, that is what I aim at right now, trying to get a job in the game
       industry. I might be satisfied with a job as a webdesigner too, but 
       I prefer working with game graphics which is more similar to working
       with demos. So far I havnt been so succesful in my job search, but 
       I wont give up!

<*tmk> anything clever u want to share with everyone before we stop this
      interview?

<*java> Yes, be nice to eachother, let us make the world a better place. 
       Leave all envy and hatred behind us! And I want to send all my 
       love to my friends and fans (!?), love you all.

<*java> Finally, is there anything you would like to say to the readers (that
       are still reading this) ?

<*tmk> uh...